Republic Aviation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Republic Aviation Corporation

Formerly	Seversky Aircraft Company
Industry	Aerospace
Fate	Acquired by Fairchild Aircraft
Founded	1931, reorganized as Republic Aviation, 1939
Founder	Alexander de Seversky
Defunct	Bought in 1965 by Fairchild Aircraft
Headquarters	Farmingdale, Long Island, New York , United States
Key people	Robert S. Johnson Alexander Kartveli Paul Moore
Parent	Fairchild Aircraft (1965–1987)

The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American company that built airplanes. It was located in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island. The company was first called the Seversky Aircraft Company.

Republic Aviation made many important military planes. Some of its most famous aircraft include:

• The P-47 Thunderbolt fighter from World War II.
• The F-84 Thunderjet and F-105 Thunderchief jet fighters.
• The A-10 Thunderbolt II close-support aircraft.

History of Republic Aviation

How Seversky Aircraft Started

The Seversky Aircraft Company began in 1931. It was founded by Alexander de Seversky. He was a Russian pilot who fought in World War I and lost a leg. Many of the first designers at Seversky Aircraft were engineers from Russia and Georgia. This included Michael Gregor and Alexander Kartveli. They later designed many of Republic's most famous planes.

After trying several times, Seversky Aircraft finally won a contest. They designed a new fighter plane for the United States Army Air Corps. In 1936, they got their first military contract to build the Seversky P-35.

In 1939, Seversky Aircraft entered another fighter contest. This time they used an improved plane called the AP-4. The contract went to the Curtiss P-40. However, the Army Air Corps was impressed with the AP-4's ability to fly well at high altitudes. They ordered 13 more planes for testing, calling them the XP-43.

By April 1939, Seversky Aircraft had lost a lot of money. Alexander de Seversky was forced out of the company he started. The company's board, led by Paul Moore, chose W. Wallace Kellett as the new president. In September 1939, the company changed its name to the Republic Aviation Corporation.

Meanwhile, the AP-4 plane continued to be developed. It eventually went into production as the P-43 Lancer. A total of 272 P-43s were made. About 108 of them were sent to China to fight against the Japanese. Pilots from the AVG Flying Tigers used some of these planes. They liked how the P-43 performed at high altitudes.

In 1939, Republic and Curtiss both entered a competition. They wanted to build a lightweight interceptor plane. Republic's design was called the XP-47. Neither design was much better than the P-40, so they were not produced.

An advertisement for Republic Aviation from 1943.

Development of the P-43 continued. A new version, the XP-44, was planned with a different engine. This engine did not produce enough power. Republic then tried a much larger engine, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp. This engine was very powerful. The new plane, called the P-44, could fly very fast. But it used a lot of fuel, which limited how far it could go.

As World War II continued in Europe, the Army realized they needed a new type of fighter. They needed a plane that could fly long distances to protect bombers. Alexander Kartveli was told that the P-44 would not work for these new needs. On his way back to New York City, he started drawing a new design. This new plane would become the famous P-47 Thunderbolt.

The P-47 Thunderbolt Takes Flight

The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) did not give Republic money to develop the new XP-47B. So, Republic paid for the first model themselves. They even reused parts from the P-43. When the first test plane was ready, it was very heavy. It weighed more than any single-engine fighter ever built. It also carried less fuel than required. But the Army was happy with its speed and performance.

When the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the need for the XP-47B grew quickly. Work on the plane sped up. In June 1942, the Army received its first P-47Bs. They ordered so many that Republic Aviation had to make its factory four times bigger. They also built three new runways at the Farmingdale, New York factory. This still wasn't enough. In November 1942, the Army approved building a new factory in Evansville, Indiana.

The P-47 was constantly improved during the war. A clear, bubble-shaped canopy was added to help pilots see better behind them. The final version was the P-47N. This was a long-range version with longer wings and body. It could carry more fuel. The P-47N was designed to fly with B-29 bombers on long missions to Japan.

Production of all P-47 versions stopped in November 1945. By then, 15,660 P-47s had been built. This made it the most produced U.S. fighter of the war. The long-range P-47N model continued to be used by the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until the mid-1950s.

The RC-3 Seabee: A Plane for Everyone

In 1946, Republic Aviation took a break from military planes. They started making the Republic RC-3 Seabee. This was an unusual all-metal amphibian plane. An amphibian plane can land on both water and land.

The Seabee was the idea of Percival "Spence" Spencer. He was a test pilot for Republic's P-47. He believed there would be a big demand for small planes from pilots returning from World War II. Republic hoped to sell 5,000 Seabees a year. However, most returning pilots did not continue flying. Republic still sold 1,060 Seabees in two years. This was a good number, as many small plane makers went out of business. The Seabee was also very affordable, costing only $3,500 to $6,000.

The F-84 Family of Jet Fighters

In 1946, Republic went back to making military planes. They developed a single-engine jet fighter. The Army wanted a fighter that could fly at 600 miles per hour. The first YP-84A Thunderjet flew on February 28, 1946. But the plane had many problems. The first F-84B did not enter Air Force service until 1949.

The F-84D, which had straight wings, became important during the Korean War. It flew 86,408 missions. In 1949, a version with swept-back wings, the F-84F Thunderstreak, was developed. More problems with its development and engine meant it didn't enter service until 1954. A photo-reconnaissance version, the RF-84F Thunderflash, was also made. 715 of these were produced.

The F-84F continued to serve with Air National Guard units until 1971. It was also used by several other countries. These included Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Denmark. The F-84F continued to fly in European air forces until the 1980s.

The F-105 Thunderchief: A Powerful Fighter-Bomber

In 1951, Alexander Kartveli started designing a plane to replace the F-84 Thunderjet. This new plane would be a single-engine fighter. But it would be larger than any single-engine fighter the Air Force had ever used. By the time the model was finished in 1953, the plane was so big it needed a more powerful engine. The Pratt & Whitney J75 engine was chosen.

On June 28, 1954, the Air Force ordered 15 of the new F-105A Thunderchief. The plane weighed 50,000 pounds. But it could carry up to 14,000 pounds of bombs and missiles. It could fly at Mach 1 (the speed of sound) at sea level and Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) at higher altitudes. Even though it had only one engine, the F-105 could carry more bombs than a four-engine World War II bomber. It could also fly farther and much faster.

The F-105 became the main ground attack plane of the Vietnam War. It flew over 20,000 missions. It was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in November 1970. Of the 833 F-105s built, 397 were lost during the Vietnam War. Most were lost to ground fire. The F-105 was the last plane Republic Aviation designed on its own.

A two-seat version, the F-105G, was also developed. It was known as "Wild Weasel". This version was designed to find and destroy enemy air defenses. The first F-105G flew in January 1966. Deliveries to Southeast Asia began in June 1966. This version stayed in service until the end of the war.

Republic Aviation's Final Years

In December 1957, Republic started a helicopter division. They built the French Aérospatiale Alouette II helicopter under a special agreement. But they did not sell many.

Republic tried to stay in business by converting a wartime reconnaissance plane (the XF-12 Rainbow) into a transport plane. This plane would have been very fast for a propeller plane. But airlines were not interested, so the project was stopped.

Republic Aviation made one last effort to survive. They went back to military contracts. In 1960, Republic Aviation bought a small part of the Dutch aircraft company Fokker. They tried to sell a Fokker-designed attack plane to the Air Force. But the Air Force was not interested in the foreign design. No contracts were offered.

In the early 1960s, the aerospace company Fairchild began buying Republic's stock. Fairchild finally bought Republic Aviation in July 1965. In September, Republic became the Republic Aviation Division of Fairchild Hiller. It stopped being an independent company.

Republic's naming system continued with Fairchild Hiller. The A-10 Thunderbolt II first flew in May 1972.

Republic Aviation's Legacy

The A-10 is still used today. Many restored planes and displays also help people remember Republic's role in aviation history. The American Airpower Museum is located at the old Republic factory site in Farmingdale, New York. It has a collection of Republic items, old factory buildings, and many aircraft. The museum has an original Republic P-47D fighter that can still fly. Its displays include a Republic F-84 jet fighter, an F-84F swept-wing fighter, a rare RF-84F reconnaissance plane, and an F-105 Thunderchief. In 2014, the museum added an A-10 Warthog. This completed its collection of Republic fighters.

In 1987, the Fairchild Corporation, which owned Republic, destroyed Republic's old company records. Joshua Stoff, a curator at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, saved one document. It was a contract for 225 P-47Bs from Republic for the US Army Air Corps. This contract was worth $16,275,657.50 and was dated September 13, 1940. It is now kept at the museum.

The Long Island Republic Airport Historical Society has photo exhibits about Republic Aviation. It also has many old photos, items, company documents, and news articles about Republic.

Aircraft Made by Republic Aviation

• Republic-Ford JB-2 (1944) pulse-jet pilotless guided missile, an American copy of the German V-1 flying bomb

See also

In Spanish: Republic Aviation para niños